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• For centuries, nature has supplied the human race with medicines. The knowledge our ancestors gained has been passed down for centuries, and it has served humankind well.
• But as human civilization developed, the focus shifted. It turned to laboratories and chemicals. With the development of antibiotics in the 1930’s it became more and more apparent that humans can create all the medicines needed to fight all infections and diseases. That proved to be true for a long time, since diseases that used to kill millions and been eradicated or brought under control.
• But now, we are starting to learn about and see some downsides of modern medicine. Antibiotics have been so overused that some strains of bacteria have become resistant to them. And many pills that we have been taking for aches and pains are turning out to have some dangerous side effects.
• As a result, there has been a rapidly growing interest in re-discovering the remedies that nature readily offers. And it is becoming widely accepted that that these remedies greatly assist the human body to heal itself, rather than merely stifling the symptoms.

• You have to ask: “can natural remedies cure all things that ail us?” the answer is :”no – not likely” And another question that needs to be brought up is” Are herbs and other natural substances safe and effective in every case and can you just blindly take herbs?” The answer is: “Definitely not” The fortunate fact is that most natural remedies tend to be milder and are less likely to cause harm – unlike most pharmaceuticals.

• Don’t get this wrong – the healing powers of nature’s remedies are not a reason to totally abandon modern medicine. It is without a doubt that advances in modern medicine have helped to prevent many diseases and treat a vast number of conditions as well. So the approach that makes sense is to complement modern medicine’s benefits with those that nature provides.
• Here is some information about the healing power of well known herbs – the most logical advice I can give you is that you get as much information as possible about the herb that is likely to help you and discuss it with your family practitioner. Hopefully he or she will also see the benefit of combining the best of both worlds

Check out individual herbs and their benefits:

Growing a Healing Garden

Hope you have enjoyed this information – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is very much wecomed and even more appreciated!

I have introduced Laura few months ago – she is my friend who has cerebral palsy and writes from her wheelchair. I will not hesitate to admit that she motivates me on regular basis.

Laura has a blog website where she posts her thoughts.. and then some. Her latest post deserves to be shared – and I felt compelled to comment on it as well. It really got me thinking after I read a comment on Laura’s blog from J. I had numerous discussions with Laura on what she should blog about, what she should share and how she could be helping others. Funny – we both thought that the “helping others” meant helping those in a similar situation. Then I realized something – it is quite possible that she could be very helpful to people who are not challenged in the same way.

Read Laura’s Blog: Kids Always Say What They Want To:

So – J. feels that she is not different and her comment does make sense to a certain degree. What I am saying is that I am different – and I am not confined to a wheelchair. I am a mom, grandma, wife, friend…. And I believe that we are all different – in a different way. No two people on the face of this Earth are the same – and honestly – that is a good thing!

Bottom line: we can all learn from each other. Wheelchair or no wheelchair. All we have to do is keep our eyes and most importantly – our minds opened.

Here is my message to those in a wheelchair: next time you find yourself being stared at or ignored or being in any other unfitting situation – speak up and ask if there is anything that person wants to ask you. If you are ignored – definitely speak up (and honestly, I am surprised Laura didn’t, because she is pretty much never lost for words!)

And here is my message to those who are not in a wheelchair : next time you have a question – Ask it! And the next time you don’t know how to approach or to deal with a person in a wheelchair, please allow him or her to make you more comfortable and tell them!

So – that’s my opinion. If you have a different one, I would – as would Laura – love to hear from you!

Her name is Lindsay, she is a member of Natural health Practitioners of Canada, owner of Lindsay Rose Holistic Health, Shiatsu Therapy Association of BC, writer, speaker and instructor.

People who meet Lindsay would tell you that she is a natural healer, born to change lives.

Her positive attitude and energy affect everyone who meets her.  Lindsay lives in beautiful Victoria, B.C. and i am absolutely thrilled that she so generously agreed to share her knowledge with all of us.

The reason that I asked Lindsay to allow me to share her knowledge is that I have just tried to follow her video about relieving sinus pressure – I had a huge headache so it was definitely worth the try.

It worked like magic – without taking Tylenol and suffering through it. I repeated the procedure Lindsay describes in her video three times and the sinus pressure headache disappeared like magic!

Of course my immediate thought was : “I have to share it” – Enjoy!

How to Relieve Sinus Pressure

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can check out detailed information about Lindsay, her services and detailed information at http://www.lindsayroseholistichealth.com/

Hope this will be helpful to you, please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated

“And now for Something Completely Different”

 - meaning – different from recipes. advice on planning weddings, etc. But in a way – this post is all about life and all about what to do and how to do it. And therefore the topic of living with cerebral palsy totally fits in.

Let me tell you why I decided to write this. Few months ago, a good friend of mine messaged me asking if I could spare a bit of time to talk to a young lady about internet blogging, social networking, etc. – possibly answering some questions for her. I am absolutely not an expert but I am willing to help out where I can so I agreed for this young lady to contact me. To make a long story short – her name is Laura Forde and she has a blog site where she writes about her experiences and where she offers help to others. You have to love the name of her blog:

Life of the Differently Abled

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Here is what I found out about Laura – her attitude and enjoyment of life is incredible and contaigous to say the least.To help you better understand what this girl is all about, who better to introduce her properly than her mom? 

The person behind lifeofthedifferentlyabled.com

Posted on December 2, 2010 by mymom

The people who have been advising lifeofthedifferentlyabled about her blog have told her that she needs to give a face and a name to her blog so I am going to introduce you to her 

Her name is Laura Forde and she is twenty four years old.  She was born very prematurely (almost twenty three weeks gestation and weighing 1lbs 3oz or 530g)  and has spent her entire life in a wheelchair.  She has spent a somewhat isolated childhood because people do not know how to interact with difference.  She has grown into a spunky and determined adult.  She graduated highschool as an Ontario Scholar (something we never dreamed would happen) and then she went to Conestoga College here in Ontario where she got her diploma in Office Administration Executive. As Laura advanced in her school years she became more independent in her ability to do the school work.  In her high school years (while still involved with Easter Seals) Laura was nominated for a Woman of the Year award which she won in the youth category. Laura is an outgoing and social young woman.  She is kind and has a great sense of humour.  Now you have met her.

I asked Laura to write something just for this website – something she would like people to know about. She did and I ahve to say – she picked a very interesting subject.

Here is Laura’s story:

I didn’t eat at school

In elementary school, I didn’t often eat. It was too socially overwhelming to eat at school . My mom and I got into a groove, a routine. The routine went something like this: mom would make my lunch filling it with things I liked only to have me return it fully intact only to have it repeat the next day and the days to follow that week. It got to the point that mom would simply repack the same lunch for an entire week. I would bring the contents home untouched and she would repack it knowing I wouldn’t touch it anyway. The social stigma of being different seriously reared its ugly little head for me in the lunch room. I’d grown up knowing I was different, and it was obvious the most to me when in the lunch room.

I don’t know why this is nor can I give examples of how it showed itself, but again they knew I was different and it is just simply too exhausting to attempt to eat in the school setting. Although we lived around the corner from the school my parents both worked full-time outside the home so there was no one available to accommodate this option for me.

Cerebral Palsy made me a messy eater as a kid. I was already feeling like a social outcast because of my chair. I was the only kid in mainstream classes and I talk about that experience in the following post. So being a messy eater only magnified my feelings of social isolation and therefore I denied myself lunch at school. And going home for lunch was out of the question.

Rest assured, as I got older this became less of an issue. With each school I attended, I was met by more and more students who themselves had physical disabilities and therefore was able to relax into who I was. And with such relaxation began my ability to eat at school again.

I have spoken to Laura number of times – we connected on Skype so chat or video calls are easy. She is looking for a job, works on contract schedules now and has thousands of ideas about what she would like to do. Her zest for life, accomplishments and her desire to help others  is something I greatly admire.

I hope you will take the time to visit Laura’s blog and read what she has to say – here is the link again:

Life of the Differently Abled

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And for your enjoyment – I decided to also add Laura’s message for the holidays:

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Happy First Year of the Life of the Differently Abled

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Thank you all for reading this, for visiting Laura’s blog site and most importantly – thank you Laura for being such a special person!

About Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a medical condition that affect children and teenagers. It actually means that sometimes, the body stores an excessive body fat. If a child stores too much fat, he becomes classified as obese. The sign of obesity is a weight which is well above the average for the child’s height and age.

Childhood obesity is usually caused be children eating too much and not being active enough. What happens is that energy ingested becomes more than the energy burned off. Very small percentage of problems with obesity is actually related to genetics. Children who are at risk of becoming obese are the ones who:

• Consume food and drinks high in sugar and fat on regular basis – that includes items like candy, chips,baked goods, pop and other sugar-sweetened beverages
• Are not physically active every day
• Watch a lot of TV and play lot of video games
• Live in environment where healthy eating and physical activity are not encourages
• Eat to help with stress and problems
• Come form a family of overweight people where genetics may be a factor – especially if healthy eating and physical activity are not a priority
• Come from low-income families where there are no resources or time to make healthy eating and active living a priority
• Have a genetic disease or hormone disorder such a Prader-Willi syndrome or Cushings syndrome

Complications of childhood obesity may result in serious medical problems such as:

• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol
• Metabolic syndrome – a number of conditions that are associated with high blood pressure
• Liver disease
• Bone and joint problems
• Respiratory problem such as asthma
• Sleep disorders such as difficulty breathing while asleep -sleep apnea
• Earlier than normal puberty or menstruation
• Eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia
• Skin infections due to moisture from sweat being trapped in skin folds
• Fatique

There are also serious psychological difficulties that can result from childhood obesity:

• Overweight children are more likely to be teased and bullied
• They are also more likely to bully other
• Obese children have a poor self-esteem and feel socially isolated
• They have an increased risk for depression
• May have poorer social skills
• Are a high risk for stress and anxiety
• May have or develop behavior and learning problems as a result of psychological difficulties

Obese children and youth do not outgrow their weight problem

If you are concerned that your child is overweight or obese:

It is very important to visit your family doctor first – he can assess whether your child’s weight is in a healthy range. One thing that your family doctor will determine if your child is overweight or obese is to measure his or her body mass index – BMI. That is an indirect indicator of body fat that is based on  height and weight of healthy range compared to his or her peers. Another thing that your family physician will be able to recommend is a proper diet for your child’s age – and following it will without a doubt result in favorable outcome for your and more especially – for your child

Hope this information was helpful to you – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and much appreciated!

• You can continuously steer your child toward healthy choice – and if you start at a younger age, the results will be that much more positive. Explaining that nutritious lunch is the fuel they need to have a good school day and have fun with after school activities is a start.
• You can look over the school cafeteria menu together, pointing out items that are healthier than other while letting your child to choose their favourite item occasionally – even if it is a hot dog.
• Check out on availability of things like chips, sodas and ice cream – if they are readily available, you will need to discuss this with your child to make sure these items are not a daily habit.
• Do your best to continuously encourage cafeteria meals that include fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains and avoiding fried foods when possible.
• Also – as far as drinks go, encourage low-fat milk and water, definitely not sodas or juices which are full of sugar.
• It will help to add healthy snacks that you children can take to school with them. Having them be a part of choosing and making snacks, that way you will be sure it will be eaten.
• Work on encouraging packed lunch – at least sometimes. Your child can participate in choosing foods for it and help to pack it as well – make it theirs.

Here are some changes you can make when planning and preparing packed lunches:

• Instead of higher fat lunch meats, consider lower fat meats – like turkey
• Replace white bread with whole grain bread
• Eliminate  fried chips with baked chips, popcorn, trail mix or veggies with dip
• Forget about fruit cups with sugar syrup – replace them with fresh fruit or fruit in natural juices
• Don’t include snack cakes – replace them with trail mix, yogurt or homemade baked goods

About Pre-packaged Lunches – They are very convenient and quite popular with kids and with parents. But they are also expensive and often less than nutritious. You will really be much better off creating packable lunches using plastic containers, re-sealable plastic bags or colourful plastic wrap.

When packing lunches, please check with your school to make sure that you are aware of any restrictions on what kids can bring with them. Most school now forbid items like peanut butter, so if you are planning to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches…. don’t!

The bottom line is that you need to be in the driving seat when it comes to what your child eats – whether it is in the school cafeteria or with packed lunches from home – and you most definitely can be, because in a long run, it is for the health of your child.

For more helpful tips for making healthy school lunches, check out:

Healthy School Lunch Strategies

Hope you have enjoyed this information – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and much appreciated!

Think Salads!

Maybe you are one of the lucky parents whose children attend a school with cafeteria that serves fresh salads daily. In that case your job is to encourage your child to try it. It may be as good idea to start packing salads regularly. And in that case, you will need to make sure that the salad includes foods your child likes. That means suggesting items that can make a salad and listening to your child’s ideas as well. Try things like cheese, cucumbers or even bacon bits – you may be surprised at what kids can come up with!

Make Clean Sandwiches

Here is what the word “clean” means: start with whole grain bread, use natural nut butter with strawberries instead of the traditional peanut butter and jelly (if you school allows peanut butter sandwiches at all – you will need to check for that as many schools now ask for parents not to send anything with nuts for their children’s lunches) Another clean lunch you can try is making wraps with chicken strips and greens and add yogurt for an after lunch snack. AS you start thinking “clean” the ideas will just keep coming!

Get Rid of the Juice

Yes – juices are definitely better than sodas, but lot of them are still very high in sugar and calories. Try skipping the juice boxes and replace them with water. If there is a problem with that, try filling a bottle with one part juice and two parts water.

Get Smart with Snacks

No chips please – you can give your child healthier snacks! Try servings of crunchy whole-grain cereals or granola with dried fruit. And if chips are demanded, make your own. It is not difficult – just get some corn or flour tortillas, bake them and season them yourself. And if chips are an absolute must, at least get the low-fat ones!

Fake a Cool Lunch

Let’s think that your child sees another eating pizza for lunch and now wants that as well. Yes, you can create a pizza for lunch – get a whole-grain bagel, spread some vegetable marina sauce on sprinkle with low-fat cheese. And think about adding a low-fat brownie as a treat – that will make the pizza eating child watch in envy!

Think Leftovers

So you go to the trouble of making healthy dinners each day – why not make a little extra and use it for next day’s lunch? For example: if you had chicken, brown rice and asparagus for dinner, pack it into a wrap – your child will love it!

Satisfy the Sweet Tooth

All kids have it so you need to address it. Instead of cookies that can be full of sugar (unless you made them yourself and know what’s in them), think about filling a little container with strawberries. You can even sprinkle a little sugar on them for the extra sweet treat. And since I mentioned making your own – there are thousands of recipes for homemade fruit squares or little muffins you can make in no time!

For more help with your children’s school lunches, check out:

Guide to Healthy School Lunches

Hope this information was helpful to you – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated!

Here is a simple guide of suggestions what to have on hand:

For Your Pantry:

• Whole grain breads
• Ready to eat cereals
• Whole grain crackers
• Canned and dried fruits
• Canned tuna or salmon
• Canned legumes – i.e. chick peas, black beans, baked beans in tomato sauce
• Seeds and nuts or pre-mixed trail mix

For Your Fridge:

• Yogurt, yogurt drinks, plain yogurt for dips
• Cheese – block or cheese strings, cottage cheese cups, cream cheese
• Milk (small cartons)
• Fresh fruits and vegetables

For Your Freezer:

• Whole grain pita and tortillas (they will defrost quickly in your microwave)
• Frozen fruits for smoothies
• Leftovers like chilli, lasagna and soups in single servings containers
• Juice boxes (they will keep the food cool and defrost by the time your child is ready to drink them)

For Your Cupboard:

• Reusable containers and cutlery
• Small plastic bags
• Thermos
• Cloth or paper napkins
• Lunch boxes or bags

And remember – setting aside short period of time in the evening to pack lunches and snacks avoids early morning rush!

For creative school lunch tips and suggested menus, check out:

How to Make Healthy School Lunches

Hope you found this information helpful, please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and much appreciated

In getting ready to plan your child’s school lunch, think about food groups and aim to have at least three or four food groups included. It doesn’t have to be a sandwich – you can get more creative than that! You can use pita, flatbreads, tortilla or even cereal instead of plain bread – it will make the lunch more interesting.

Here are 10 sample lunch combination ideas:

1. Hard boiled egg, red pepper strips, tortilla or flat bread, fruit yogurt
2. Tuna or salmon salad, snow peas and carrot strips, yogurt dip for the veggies, cereal snack
3. Ham on English muffin, baby corn, milk
4. Cheese cubes, bran or oatmeal muffin, cherry tomatoes, hummus dip
5. Rice cakes, melon balls, pudding
6. Cottage cheese cup, whole grain crackers, fruit smoothie, sunflower seeds
7. Cheese filled pasta, zucchini sticks, cauliflower pieces, yogurt dip,fruit
8. Marinated tofu, sliced mango, bread sticks, chocolate milk
9. Marinated cooked tofu in a tortilla wrap with shredded lettuce and grated carrot, fruit yogurt

10.  Hot cereal (in thermos) with berries, milk or soy beverage, fruit

Planning snacks:

Think of snacks as mini meals – here are a few ideas:

• Wholegrain crackers with a cheese stick
• Fresh fruit with yogurt dip
• Yogurt and small oatmeal muffin
• Homemade trail mix: dried cranberries, raisins, dried apricots, apple rings, sunflower seeds, favourite cereal. You can mix a lot of this ahead of time and store in air-tight container

Get Your Child Involved:

From planning to packing, it is a good idea to get not only your child, but also your family members get involved. If you do that, your child will more likely eat everything that is in the lunch bag – simply because they feel they chose it.

You can have older children help making sandwiches, pita wraps and vegetables and have the younger child do the packing.

Take your child grocery shopping and let him or her choose some of the foods – like vegetables, breads, fruits, yogurts, keeping an watchful eye on them making healthy choices.

Hope this information was helpful to you, please send in your comments, suggestions adn experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated

For Minor Scraps and Bruises:

That means any breaks in child’s skin and with bleeding and some pain

Simple directions:

1. Clean with mild soap and lukewarm water
2. Treat with antibiotic cream like Polysporin to speed healing and provide a moist, healing environment to minimize scarring
3. Cover with an adhesive bandage until the wound is completely healed

Cold and Flu Symptoms:

That means sore throat, runny and stuffy nose, sneezing, coughing and achiness possibly with fever, chills, aches,m dry cough.

Treatment :

1. Drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest
2. A medicine like acetaminophen or ibuprofen will help releive aches, pains and fever
3. Use a cold mist humidifier and saline nose sprays for congestion
4. Gargle with salt water to soothe sore throat
5. See physician if symptoms worsen

Stomach Flu:

Can include diarrhea, vomiting,abdominal cramps,fever, loss of appetite

Treament:

1. Drink lots of fluids
2. Medician like acetaminophen or ibuprofen will help relieve fever
3. Go back to solid foods only when stomach can tolerate them
4. See a physician if child is under 2 years old and starts getting dehydrated or if symptoms get worse

Pink Eye Treatment:

Symptoms will include itchy or sore eyes, white of the eye may turn red or pink, eyes become sensible to light and possible sore throat and allergy symptoms will occur. Caution: Pink eye is highly contagious!

Treatment:

1. Keep eye clean by rinsing gently with warm water
2. treatment with antibiotic eye and ear drops should improve the condition in 1-2 days
3. See a physician if symptoms don’t improve in two days after treatment

Swimmer’s Ear:

Symptoms will include itching, pain and fluid in the ear. Decreased hearing is also possible as is redness of the ear area.

Treatment:

1. Best is to treat with antibiotic ear drops, like Polysporin to relieve the condition.
2. If symptoms worsen after 2 days of treatment, consult your family physician

Chicken Pox:

You will notice flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills and achiness, followed by the appearance of red spots that turn into blisters and are extremely itchy.

Treatment:

1. Lesions can get infected so regular washing is very important
2. You can help to relieve the itch with baking soda or oatmeal baths
3. A medicine like acetaminophen and ibuprofen will help releive fever

Minor Burns:

You will notice soreness, redness, skin blisters and peeling skin for more serious burns.

Treatment:

For more serious burns you have to seek immediate medical attention

For minor burns, follow the Clean – Treat – Cover steps outlined in the Minor Cuts and Bruises treatment direction

Hope this information was helpful to you – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated